Busy week ahead for prep playoffs
The battle for state tournament berths really gets going today with numerous soccer and volleyball playoffs.
Perhaps the biggest matchup takes place at 5 p.m. at Southridge High School, where the Suns (15-2) — the regular-season and district soccer champions of the Mid-Columbia Conference — play host to Mt. Spokane (11-4) in the Class 3A regional tournament. The winner gets the No. 1 seed into the state tournament, which begins the following week.
Meanwhile, across town at Lampson Stadium at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Kamiakin (13-5) plays host to North Central (5-9) in a loser-out match. The winner will play at the Mt. Spokane-Southridge loser on Saturday to determine the second seed to state.
The Class 4A regional girls soccer tournament also starts tonight, with Richland (7-11) hosting Greater Spokane League No. 3 seed University (11-5) at 6 p.m. at Bomber Field in a loser-out contest. Winner advances to play at GSL top seed Gonzaga Prep (13-2) on Thursday.
Top-seeded MCC team Chiawana (11-5) plays host to Ferris (9-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday. There are three state berths available.
In the 1A SCAC district girls soccer tournament, Connell (12-4) plays host to Naches Valley (8-7) at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
In volleyball, Chiawana (13-3) plays host to University (13-3) in a loser-out match at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Winner will play top GSL seed Mead (13-1 and which is hosting the rest of the tournament) at 1 p.m. Saturday. Top MCC seed Richland (14-1) plays Central Valley (12-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mead. Three state berths are available.
The Class 3A regional tournament, with two state berths available, is all at Kamiakin High School on Saturday. The Braves (10-5) play Mt. Spokane (9-5) at 1 p.m. for the top seed to state. At 3 p.m., Shadle Park (6-10) and Southridge (10-6) battle in a loser-out match at 3 p.m., and the winner takes on the Kamiakin-Mt. Spokane loser at 5 p.m. for the second state berth.
In the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference district volleyball tournament, Othello (10-4) plays East Valley of Yakima (7-7) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Ellensburg in a loser-out match. The winner then plays Ellensburg (12-2) at 7 p.m.
In the other half of the bracket, Prosser (8-6) takes on Quincy (9-5) at Selah at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a loser-out match. The winner then plays Selah (13-1) at 7 p.m.
And here are Tuesday’s first-round matches in the 1A South Central Athletic Conference district tournament (all matches at 7 p.m.): River View (8-6) is at Granger (13-1), Zillah (8-8) visits Kiona-Benton (12-2), Goldendale (7-8) travels to Columbia-Burbank (11-4), and Connell (6-8) is at Naches Valley (12-2).
South of the state border, the Oregon boys soccer state tournament starts Tuesday, involving three area teams.
Hermiston (11-2-2) plays host to Crescent Valley (6-5-2) at 4 p.m. in a Class 5A match. In the 3A/2A/1A tournament, Taft (9-3-2) visits Riverside (10-2-2) at 2 p.m., while Umatilla (7-5-1) is at St. Mary’s of Medford (13-2) at 4 p.m.
On tap Tuesday
Soccer
4A | Ferris at Richland, 6 p.m. (loser out)
3A | Mt. Spokane at Southridge, 5 p.m. (winner No. 1 to state)
3A | North Central at Kamiakin, 5 p.m. (loser out)
1A | Naches Valley at Connell, 3 p.m.
Volleyball
4A | University at Chiawana, 6 p.m. (loser out)
2A | East Valley vs. Othello, 5 p.m. (loser out)
2A | Quincy vs. Prosser, 5 p.m. (loser out)
1A | River View at Granger; Zillah at Kiona-Benton; Goldendale at Columbia-Burbank; Connell at Naches Valley, all 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Busy week ahead for prep playoffs."